BCS Championship: Rooting for or Against Auburn's Cam Newton

Auburn star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton has had an amazing season, and with one final test versus the Oregon Ducks in the BCS national title game tonight, Newton can put the icing on one of the best individual college football seasons ever.

But the controversy surrounding his eligibility, and whether or not his dad made recruiters pay for Cam's signature, has been a dark cloud hovering over Newton's year, and it's never going away.

We watched Reggie Bush put up amazing stats at USC during the 2000s, helping lead the Trojans to two national titles.

However, a scandal involving Bush and NCAA violations cost him his 2005 Heisman Trophy and has left USC in a mess. Bush returned the award without remorse, acting as if he was just returning a faulty item bought from a store.

On the other hand, USC kept the millions Bush earned the school from his performances, and former coach Pete Carroll quickly departed to the NFL, avoiding the mess entirely, showing just how little people want to do with these scandals.

Newton is a fabulous player, and his eligibility has been granted by the SEC for now, but it is inevitable that new information will surface in the next few years.

By that time, Newton will likely be in the NFL, making millions of dollars, and not caring about Auburn's situation.

Breaking the rules in college athletics is a hot topic for many fans and university officials, which is why people are rooting or not rooting for Auburn solely on their opinions of Newton.

For the moment, he is innocent of any violation that would make him ineligible, but it is likely that he could be found guilty in the future.

Fair or not, this possibility is the reason many are pulling for the Oregon Ducks to defeat Newton and the Tigers tonight.

If there is a decent possibility the NCAA may take away Newton's season, and cost Auburn its wins for this season, why would you root for them?

In Reggie Bush's situation, he gave the trophy back, eliminating himself from the list of winners. The runner-up for the award was Vince Young of Texas, but he did not receive the award after Bush's scandal.

If Auburn is crowned champions tonight, but then have the title taken away in the future, who do we give the glory to?

Oregon? Possibly, but what about TCU, who went undefeated by beating Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl?

You cannot have a vacant spot in the record books for the national champion.

It's unfortunate many are wishing Auburn would win or not win the title because of a player's off-field actions that are not criminal, and not because of something he did on the field, such as his attitude toward fellow and opposing coaches and players.

Hopefully, Auburn and Cam Newton are innocent and did not have any violations that would take away their splendid season.

Looking at past scandals and the current climate of the competitive world of college recruiting, it would not be a surprise if Newton is found guilty.

With millions of dollars to be earned by making big bowl games and appearing on national television, colleges will do anything to persuade the best high school talent to join their program, sometimes going as far as breaking the rules.